All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque Essay

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front, written by Erich Remarque is a novel dealing with one young mans transformation from an average person into a hardened man that eventually turns away from the society that he once was a part of. Remarque wrote this novel to emphasize the disorder and chaos that is created in war. This sense of disorder was felt within the soldiers as well as the civilians that have no part in the fighting. Civilians often had a glamorous portrayal of war that was preached to many but it soon became a harsh reality, the horror for the many that saw it. The novel centers on a young German soldier, Paul Baumer and his experiences throughout a period of World War I.†¦show more content†¦As he becomes more alienated from this norm, he begins to find comfort in his communicating with his post-enlisted society. This society embraces him as he embraces it; there is a feeling of family amongst the comrades. In the novel there is a point where Baumer is pinned dow n in a shell hole and becomes disoriented and has a panic attack. He says â€Å"Tormented, terrified, in my imagination, I see the grey, implacable muzzle of a rifle which moves noiselessly before him whichever was I try to turn my head†(P. 184-185). He is unable to snap out of the trance until he hears voices behind him. He recognizes the voices and realizes that he is close to his comrades in his own trench. Baumer begins to comprehend that the reviving effects of his comrades’ words were much stronger and powerful than anything that his family or friends could ever say to him. He notices that the words of the traditional world have no meaning, and the words of his comrades have more meaning than they are even aware of. Baumer ponders the effects of words for a long time. He begins to look deeper into the language of both worlds. He comes to the assumption that the pre-enlistment society has misled many including him. He noticed that teachers and parents had used words passionately at times to persuade him and other young men to enlist in the war effort. Baumer admits that â€Å"fast talking† adults duped him and the othersShow MoreRelatedAll Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Remarque1366 Words   |  6 Pagesthe consequences. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Remarque investigates the damaging effects of war on an individual’s identity using Paul Bà ¤umer as a representation for all soldiers; he draws specific attention to the continuing loss of purpose and ability to relate to the rest of society. The beginning is the starting point of Paul’s change throughout the novel; first going into war, Paul knew who he was, not just another solider. But the literal line where the front starts is the launchRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque1714 Words   |  7 PagesAll Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque is a narrative describing World War I from a German soldier s perspective. The story is narrated by Paul Baà ¼mer and predominantly revolves around the experiences of him and his comrades Kemmerich, Katczinsky, Kropp, Mà ¼ller, and Leer. The novel begins with Paul Baà ¼mer and his friends in a cheerful mood as extra rations are being allocated to them due to the missing soldiers. During this event, Baà ¼mer introduces and describes the variousRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front, By Erich Maria Remarque732 Words   |  3 Pageshistory, war between man has been nearly inevitable. The impact of war has always been devastat ing on all aspects. However, loss in war is mostly seen within the loss of land, wealth and the numbers of lives lost. There are few accounts of the true losses felt from war, the loss felt by the survivors and the true cost of human life. In the excerpt from All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, illustrates the impact on human life and question what the cost of human life was impacted. WhileRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque1469 Words   |  6 Pagesjoy and happiness in life. Through the experiences that the soldiers encounter, their humanity is compromised. Thus, as war strips soldiers of their innocence, they start to become disconnected from themselves and others. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque illustrates the negative effects war has on a soldier’s humanity, through his use of Paul’s books and the potato pancakes by revealing the soldiers loss of emotion that causes them to become detached f rom society. Through theseRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front, By Erich Maria Remarque1655 Words   |  7 Pagessupporting Gandhi’s belief is World War I, which was fought between the Central Powers and Allies and infamous for its devastating repercussions and savage warfare that occurred from 1914 to 1918. In his historical fiction novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque describes the traumatic and deadly war conditions of WWI from the perspective of a German soldier named Paul Baumer, who provides readers with firsthand insight on war’s atrocious nature. Nonetheless, war’s violence did notRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque1292 Words   |  6 PagesGermany flourished on the nationalism in the early 1900’s of its people. Ready to encounter an attack at any moment and any time. People forget the decision of war until they are in the flame of its fire. In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque explains his experience of the war in World War 1 through a character Paul Bumer. Bumer was a kind and sensitive man. Back in school he used to write poets. Pual’s Bumer teacher brainwashed him and other students who where his classmatesRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front By Erich M. Remarque1290 Words   |  6 PagesBrutalities in WWI In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front Erich M. Remarque realistically describes the brutalities of war through the protagonist Paul Baumer. Adults encourage the young men to become soldiers since they are the â€Å"Iron Youth†(18) as told by their society. The war turns out to be a hellish world where the young men experience horrors such as witnessing the innocent suffer, and taking the lives from men on the other side of the battlefield. As the novel draws to a close, PaulRead MoreAll Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque800 Words   |  3 Pages All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque was the war novel that changed what ‘war novel’ meant. No longer would war be a fantasy for the growing generation, but a real-life death trap. World War I came with many innovations to warfare: machine guns, poison gases, trench-style warfare. While these technologies were supposed to improve warfare, it made war longer with more casualties. In All Quiet on the Western Front war is not looked up to, it is looked down upon from the perspectiveRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque2100 Words   |  9 Pagesthoughts, feelings and experiences. All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, which takes World War I as background, is the great war novel which talks about the German soldiers extreme physical and mental stress during the war, and the hopeless of these soldiers about the â€Å"future† – the time the war would have ended. All Quiet on the Western Front is narrated by Paul Bà ¤umer, a twenty-years-old German soldier who fights in the French front in World War I. Paul and his classmatesRead MoreAll Quiet And The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque1249 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"We are forlorn like children, and experienced like old men, we are crude and sorrowful and superï ¬ cial, I believe we are lost† (Remarque 123). World War I is a tragic event that occurred in 1914 to 1918. Paul Baumer and the rest of the soldiers in the novel of â€Å"All Quiet in the Western Front† by Erich Maria Remarque are lost; they are broken from the fist World War, they don’t know anything aside from War, and they have lost their innocence during the years of maturation. When the young men heard